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# Roy Keane sends 'donkey' jibe as Bruno Fernandes Man United row gets personal

- **Source:** 
- **Published:** 25 May
- **Club:** Manchester United
- **Original URL:** https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-united-bruno-fernandes-keane-34009784

Fernandes has enjoyed a brilliant campaign at Old Trafford, having registered a single-season record of 21 Premier League assists. But the Portuguese has been criticised, with United legend Keane describing him as being at the centre of a "circus act" following their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Keane suggested last week that Fernandes was prioritising individual assists glory over the team's interests in his eagerness to set the single-season record.

And Fernandes' anger over Keane's comments were clear on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, released on Monday. The former Sporting star accused the Irishman of "lying" over comments he made.

He said: "Like I've always said, I don't mind criticism. I've always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything or whatsoever.

"People have an opinion; they think it's good, bad, whatever. What I don't like is when people lie about things and [in] this case that you said about Roy Keane basically what he said is a lie because… either he saw some other interview or he can't say that I said one thing that I've just not said and luckily for me is everything on record.

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"I accept his criticism, I accept that he might like me as a player or not, like me as a person or not. But what I don't like is that he puts words in my mouth that have not been said. That's the only thing I don't like."

Now, Keane has appeared to criticise Fernandes again with a post on his Instagram stories. The 54-year-old posted a picture of a donkey with two lions lurking in the shadows.

The post includes a simple sentence which reads: "Too much attention makes a donkey think he's a lion."

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, the former Ireland international said: "After the [Forest] game he got interviewed and he said, the captain of Manchester United said: 'A few times, I probably should have shot but I made them passes.' Wow. How can your mindset of a footballer be going into a match to be about an individual record?

"He won't be winning trophies, not with that mindset of the team."

Fernandes' actual post-match comments were: "There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot. I'm very happy for the assist, but more than that, I'm happy for the win and to finish the season on a high."

Former United captain Keane appeared to have misinterpreted Fernandes' comments rather than seeking to distort the truth. Nevertheless, a war of words now threatens to break out between two of the Reds' best midfielders of all time.